Hi All

I am still having a problem creating compilation DVD's using DVDFab Customize and then Merge Mode.

Spent nearly a week now trying to get this to work with no luck - but at least now I can see what I'm sure is a problem with DVDFab Customize mode.

Problem is that the Compilation DVD will not play in a standalone DVD or on PC without freezing between titles. Also you cannot skip to the next title.
I have discovered that the files with only ONE TITLE in it created with DVDFab Customize Mode - when re-opened in DVDFab Merge mode shows that there are (for example the ORIGINAL DVD with 10 titles) 10 titles but the running time is only for one.
Compared the file of exactly the same title encoded with DVDFab to that of DVDShrink - DVDFab shows 10 titles, time 4:26 - DVDShrink shows 1 title, time 4:19
The files encoded by DVDShrink work perfectly on the Compilation DVD, both on standalone DVD and PC.

Surely this must be a software problem and is really frustrating. Can someone try this for me and confirm they are getting the same result. Simply encode one title to HDD using DVDFab Customize, then open with DVDFab Merge and see if it shows only 1 title. PLEASE.

not sure if I foloow your description of the problem, but I don't see anything wrong with stuff on my HD that was created with customise. I've only used customise to get more than 1 title ( for only 1 title I'd use main movie) but my customised folders look fine when I reexamine in fab 3.1.7.6. with either customise or merge mode selected.
Desecribe your method of reproducing your problem and say whether you are usign preserve menus or using no menus.
Note also that my understanding of merge is that it will only create one title, with multiple chapters, so you can only then navigate via next and previous chapter navigation, not by next and previous title.

Hi StirlingMac,

Thank you very much for the report.

It will be fixed in next version.

Best Regards,
Fengtao

Hi Fengtao

Thank you for the quick response and all the hard work you put into your product - I am looking forward to the next version.

Regards
StirlingMac

Hi Fengtao

Just tried 3.1.7.8 Beta - still the same. Encoded 1 chapter from Main Concert - with 22 chapters in total. Open in Merge and it shows the correct duration time for the 1 chapter - but still says there are 22 chapters in the file.

Regards
StirlingMac

Hi StirlingMac,

DVDFab will keep all the chapters when copying some chapters of main movie, it's by design.

Best Regards,
Fengtao

Hi Fengtao

Unfortunately this does not allow the DVD created with merge mode to move smoothly from one title to the next. Both the standalone DVD player and the media player on the PC freezes. The players seem to get confused looking for the other chapters. You also, cannot skip to the next title.
As I pointed out in my thread, if I use DVDShrink to extract the 1 chapter I need from each original disc and then use DVDFab to merge these chapters, it works perfectly.
I assume from your last reply that you will not be pursuing this any further.

Thanks for your replies
Regards
StirlingMac

So what use is DVDFab Customize Mode and Merge Mode to me - none

Surely the whole idea of these 2 features is to be able to extract , in my case, chapters I want from various DVD's, and then put them onto one disc. Well it does it - but they cannot be played smoothly or witout long waiting periods between titles - on standalone Home Theatre DVD or PC.

The fact that DVDFab is asked and supposedly meant to extract 1 chapter from a disc, but cannot do this without showing the total amount of chapters that was in the original, is a problem.

Oh well - back to DVDshrink for these functions.

BTW - I am selecting the " No Menus, Play the titles continually" option when I do this.

Hi StirlingMac,

I'll check this issue and get back to you asap.

Best Regards,
Fengtao

Hi Fengtao

It will really be great if you can fix this - much appreciated.

FYI - I am only trying to do this Music/Concert DVD's.

Regards
StirlingMac

I ahve a different probelm with music concert & customise. ths DVD is Rush in Rio disc 2. On disc 2 there is a documentary, plus 3 songs in mutliangle.

The way that multi angle is set up is that you see a large picture + 3 or 4 mini pictures below it, then whichever mini picture you click on while watching becomes the new large picture . there is apparently only a single audio stream per song. ( one sing has a choice of 4 angles, the other 2 songs have 3 angles each. fab shows them as titles 2(1), 2(2), 2(3), 2(4), then 3(1), 3(2),3(3), then 4(1),4(2),4(3). So I select all of those for the custom copy

But the customised copy of just these 3 mutil-angle songs has no audio when the songs are playing, whichever of the 4 views you select. there is background audio only on the front end menu.

I've zipped the orginal ifos and the ones which DVDfab created - 3.1.7.6. version

and I've carefully checked customised settings to make sure that I am not excluding any possible audio streams, there is only a choice of 1 single audio stream with each title.

a full disc copy would work, but then I have an unwanted 1 hour documentary and would need a DVD9 for an uncompressed copy. I'd like to get these 3 songs and only these 3 songs onto a DVD5 without losing the audio!

PS there is audio embedded in each of the mutli-angle title files listed above, I've proved this by running DVD audio ripper software on the original disc so e.g. titles 3(1),3(2), and 3(3) contain identical audio streams,

PS, I've now tried a different approach which does work - I used customise to select one multi-angle song only with No menus, and that has worked fine.

but using customise to select 3 songs with perserve menu fails as described above.
Full disc works OK.

Note that the documentary which I am tring to exclude is title1 & has several chapters. the songs are titles 2, 3, 4.

I have now found a - hopefully only a temporary - workaround for my problem

When opening Merge mode I selected the files containing the 1 chapter I require as usual, went to "NEXT" so that I get to 'DVD to DVD - Title List' screen. Then went to chapter range and only selected the chapter number which I originally wanted. The total play time of the file now reduces by about 2 - 5 seconds. Did this with all the HDD files I wanted and now the compilation DVD plays perfectly, both on standalone and in PC. No freezing when moving to the next title and can also skip forward to next title.
Hopefully Fengtao can fix this to shorten procedure - also you have to remember which chapter you want for each title you extract so that you can delete unwanted chapters later when you are in Merge Mode. Sounds confusing but it works!!!!!